Spirituality in the age of social media: Know how technology changing people's day-to-day lives

Today's world is a world of media. Although there are many forms of media, social media is the most 'in-thing', meaning the most talked about. It is a revolution and a different world out there. With the infusion of smartphone technology into people's day-to-day lives, social media is only more prevalent in this modern era. From vegetable vendors and night guards to students and youth, to CEOs and big celebrities, everyone is a part of social media, and it is accessible to them on their smartphones. Having even a basic smartphone and knowing how to use social media applications can make anyone and everyone a part of social media's society.

So, what or who is an influencer? When millions and billions of people are part of social media's society, there emerges a class of people who can steer the thoughts of a large group. Social media works with content—written and audio-video. 

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Content is curated according to the thought process of the person who posts or presents it. A person whose content or thoughts are endorsed and followed by a large segment of this social media society is called an influencer. As the term suggests, this person not only gets the approval or following of many people but can also influence and direct their thoughts and actions on social media.

Spirituality is the science of the Spirit, the Soul or the Atman. It is about discovering, understanding and most importantly, realizing the profound truths about life, birth, death and everything related to these. Spirituality is all about knowing and realizing the truth about oneself and with that Realization, discovering the truth about the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. Spirituality is a deep subject and one can’t have enough knowledge about it. 

When spirituality, as a subject, has so much depth and knowledge to assimilate, absorb and ultimately realize, is the social media society ready to gain and realize this knowledge and the truths about life? What role do social media influencers have in the spread of spirituality? Social media is for everyone, from the most common to people in the upper crust of society, but spirituality as a path of life is not for everyone. This is not merely a subject but a way of life, where one lives and thrives on the Realizations of the Truth, experiences a state of Consciousness of the Truth and thereby, experiences ‘SatChitAnanda’, which is Eternal Bliss in Truth Consciousness. 

Another point to be noted here is the authenticity of these influencers. Just as the social media society is composed of people from various strata, classes, castes, occupations, ages, genders, walks of life and thought processes, social media influencers are also one among these people. They may or may not have the credibility and complete knowledge about spirituality. 

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They become influencers just based on their popularity amongst the masses. And when spirituality is a niche domain, the masses may not know about it or worse, they may have the wrong knowledge and learning. For example, we have been taught various lies and blind beliefs for ages. So, the masses will follow those very beliefs and lies and thereby, endorse the one who validates those lies. 

To progress on the path of spirituality, the most important tool is a Spiritually Enlightened Master, an authentic Guru. It is a Guru who takes one from ‘Gu’—darkness to ‘Ru’—light. Without a Guru, one cannot progress on the path and realize profound truths. Social media influencers may not be Spiritually Enlightened. Therefore, their content's credibility and authenticity will always be questioned. 

So, what role do the influencers have in today’s age of social media regarding spirituality? The influencers have a mass outreach. They may or may not be Spiritually Enlightened Masters but with the basic knowledge of spirituality, they can re-direct the masses towards the subject and path of spirituality. They can tell people about their basic ignorance and also inculcate curiosity towards Self-Realization and God-Realization. 

The path of spirituality is for everyone. It is the right of every person, irrespective of age, caste, gender and class to realize about oneself, know the purpose of their birth and choose the path towards SatChitAnanda, Moksha and Nirvana. Thus, if the social media influencers of today’s age exercise their power, they can do the greatest service to mankind, society and the world by leading more and more people towards spirituality by inculcating the spirit of Asking, Investigating and Realizing the Truth. 

-By AiR - Atman in Ravi: Happiness Ambassador, Author, Spiritual Mentor and Philanthropist.

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• Spirituality
• technology
• social media